The number of visitor arrivals to New Zealand in July 2014 (196,900) was the highest ever for a July month, Statistics New Zealand said today. It surpassed the previous July high of 183,700 in 2013.Visitor arrivals reach record high in July

21 August 2014

The number of visitor arrivals to New Zealand in July 2014 (196,900) was the highest ever for a July month, Statistics New Zealand said today. It surpassed the previous July high of 183,700 in 2013.

“More holiday visitors from Indonesia, Australia, and China helped boost visitor arrivals to a new July record,” population statistics project manager Susan Hollows said. “The increase from Indonesia was mainly due to visitors travelling during the Ramadan holiday period.”

In the July 2014 year, visitor arrivals numbered 2.80 million, up 6 percent from the July 2013 year. New Zealand’s top four sources of visitors were Australia, China, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

New Zealand residents departed on 233,100 overseas trips in July 2014, down 2 percent from July 2013. Over the July 2014 year, New Zealand residents took 2.23 million trips, up 3 percent from last year. The top four international destinations for the July 2014 year were Australia, the United States, Fiji, and the United Kingdom.

More arrivals drive net gain of migrants

New Zealand had a seasonally adjusted net gain (more arrivals than departures) of 4,500 migrants in July 2014. This is the highest net gain since the record of 4,700 migrants in February 2003.

Net migration has increased in most months over the past year. The difference between the net gains in July 2013 and July 2014 was mainly due to:

In the July 2014 year, migrant arrivals numbered 102,400 (up 15 percent from 2013). Migrant departures numbered 61,400 (down 22 percent). This resulted in a net gain of 41,000 migrants, the highest annual gain since the August 2003 year (41,200). New Zealand recorded its highest-ever net gain of 42,500 migrants in the May 2003 year.

In the latest year, New Zealand had a net loss of 7,300 migrants to Australia, well down from 29,200 a year earlier. Net gains were recorded from most other countries, led by India (7,700), China (6,600), the United Kingdom (5,500), and the Philippines (3,100).

Compared to the July 2013 year, the biggest increase in visa type for arriving migrants was student visas (up 4,800). Migrants from India and China most commonly arrived in New Zealand to study, while migrants from the United Kingdom and the Philippines most often arrived to work.